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Thursday, May 29, 2008

REALLY?!?!

From USmagazine.com:

A Dunkin Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray was pulled after conservative commentators argued the talk show host's scarf implied support of Muslim extremism. The online ad was taken down this weekend because of "the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee," the company said in a statement.

They said the scarf appeared to show support for terrorism.Malkin wrote that the kaffiyeh "has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad."The company responded: "Absolutely no symbolism was intended."

Come on people, really.....get over yourself! Rachael Ray fan or not, this is just flat out dumb.

It's ridiculous. It seems like people only pull their heads out of their asses to make a big controversy. One of my biggest pet peeves is closed-minded people. Can't stand them. So I'm going to go on record and say:-not every Middle-Eastern person is a terrorist.-not every dark-skinned person is a terrorist for that matter, either.-not every Jewish person is going to steal your money.-not every black guy is in a gang.-not every White guy is an uppity, conservative racist.-not every woman is a bad driver. Most are. But not all.

Not that I necessarily agree with or understand this sentiment, but a lot of people see the kaffiyeh as "anti-Israel." We don't understand the symbolism of this Palestinian article of clothing as Americans, but a lot of Jewish-Americans certainly do. Do I think that Rachael Ray understood the symbolism and wore it anyway? I highly doubt it.

It would be like a Middle Easterner wearing a confederate flag as an innocent fashion statement. Do they realize that's our American symbol for racial oppression? Probably not. But would you tell a black person that they should be any less offended because of the wearer's ignorance?

Funny about this....when I was in Israel, it was just a scarf. really. i mean, maybe things have changed. Also, one of my undergrad professors (a HUGE PROPONENT OF NONVIOLENT PEACE) wears a kaffiyeh in the winter as - once again - a scarf, nothing more!

I agree that we need to be respectfull of different cultures and such, but this was probably just a scarf that her stylist got from the store that she thought was cool and wore.

My biggest problem is that there is hardly anything out there anymore that doesn't offend one person or another. Sometimes we just need to stop reading so much into things. If it is something that is truly meant to be disrespectful and hurtful to others then of course it should be banned, but if it is just something that sorta resembles something that people think is disrespectful b/c it has the same colors and stuff then maybe we need to relax.

I, personally, think that the most offensive thing about the scarf is that it's hideously ugly. Granted, I don't live near the Gaza Strip. So when I saw the commercial, I thought "That's an ugly scarf. Rachael Ray's voice is annoying. Mmm...donuts."

And I agree that, anymore, I find myself asking people, "Are you really offended by that, or are you just supposed to be offended by that?" I HATE political correctness. I think it's more divisive than respectful and unifying. I've been dying to write a post about it, but I'm not mentally ready for the angry repsonses...

You are right, the scarf IS a ugly, and a bit unnecessary. I am all for fun fashion trends and don't get me wrong, I loves me a great scarf....in the fall or winter. But it is beautiful out, she has short sleeves but then a part of her is like...hmmm, my neck is cold so let me put on this shredded looking scarf. Oh Rachael.

i suddenly remembered a funny blog post on the "Stuff White People Like" blog and it was scarves.... and the FIRST picture of the white person in a scarf is wearing a kaffiyeh!! link here: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/04/30/97-scarves/